Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter speaks at a media conference on the topics "Amendments to the DNA Profile Act: Opening of the consultation procedure" and "Message on Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure", Wednesday, August 28, 2019, in the Federal Media Center in Bern. (KEYSTONE / Anthony Anex)

A support program is designed to encourage asylum seekers to return home.

Voluntarily, only one in four returns home. In most cases, the Confederation and the cantons must help with measures, sometimes with police escorts to their country of origin. Last year, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) counted 4,826 forced evictions from rejected asylum seekers and non-resident aliens.

Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter wants to force the directions now. On behalf of the FDP Federal Councilor, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) presented on Monday measures to improve enforcement. Additional liaison officers in target countries, the close accompaniment of difficult individual cases and an expansion of return assistance should address it (see yesterday's edition).

Currently, adults receive a flat rate of 1,000 francs return assistance. Anyone who has a business idea or wants to continue their education can receive up to 3,000 additional, in special cases, 5,000 francs for concrete reintegration projects. Beneficiaries of such benefits are those who voluntarily leave Switzerland. Last year, the SEM spent around 1.5 million francs on repatriation assistance.

Country program should set incentive

The SEM is now reviewing the resumption of so-called country programs, as spokesperson Reto Kormann says on request. Return assistance is geared specifically to the needs in the countries of origin.

At the top of the list of federal priorities is Eritrea, the country where most of the asylum seekers come from. Unfortunately, says Kormann, there is no local partner available for the implementation of the projects in the country. However, the SEM is currently clarifying this.

Recommendation from the Canton of Zurich

Urs Betschart heads the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich and is Vice President of the Association of Cantonal Immigration Offices. The former SEM Vice Director knows country programs from his own experience and draws a positive conclusion.

The people were not simply sent away, but Switzerland has enabled them to build a new existence,

says Betschart.

Betschart was also the one who recently recommended that the federal government develop a country program for Eritrea. Although the level of protection among Eritreans is high, in the recent past the federal government has increasingly given direction. However, they can not be executed, because only very few voluntarily return home.

Individual return assistance is good and right, but it is precisely with states such as Eritrea that a holistic approach is needed to make progress - and to encourage more people to return. Currently around 50,000 Eritreans live in Switzerland. With the integration it's hard. Social assistance dependency is high and the employment rate low.

It was only in July that Eritrea's Foreign Minister Osman Saleh visited Switzerland. But he did not accept an invitation from Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, but took part in an event of exile Eritreans in Burgdorf, as the Rundschau reported. Politicians from left to right, took this as an affront.

In the long term, Switzerland is seeking a readmission agreement with Eritrea. After all, the efforts to get into business with the dictatorship are not completely unsuccessful. Switzerland has been supporting vocational training projects since October 2017. More than 1,000 Eritreans have benefited so far.

Business training for Afghans

Betschart mentions states such as Algeria and Morocco as further priority partners for new country programs. 657 new asylum applications were received by the two countries by the end of July, and one person was granted the right to stay. Switzerland is facing great difficulties in returning people to these countries - not least because they do not accept forced evictions in special chartered flights.

In the past, the SEM has implemented country programs with countries including Nigeria, Georgia and the Balkans such as Kosovo. To build a professional existence in Nigeria, the federal government let jump up to 6000 francs per person. In Georgia, he supported a program for the care of addicts, in the Balkans were financed in addition to career prospects house renovations.

Irrespective of country programs, the federal government is currently financing offices of the international organization for migration in Afghanistan, Gambia, Iraq, Somalia and Sri Lanka to look after returnees from Switzerland. For example, except in Somalia, those who have proposed a project can attend business training.

Expedition flights cost about 6 million francs

Last year, 6137 rejected asylum seekers and foreigners without a residence permit left Switzerland by air. For 214 people, the federal government organized a special flight with police escorts.

This is the case when a person presumably has strong physical resistance to repatriation. The rest were evicted on scheduled flights, with their 314 accompanied to their homes by police officers. The scheduled and special flights cost the Federation 2018 about 6 million francs.

Last year, the federal government had to cancel or rebook 2731 flights. In other words, every third removal fails. (Ka)

Addey Mebrat lives at the other end of Asmara, a lone wolf in her declining years. She hates small kids and is not slow at lashing out at any group of kids, who dare enter her house uninvited.

The neighborhood children often hesitate to visit her house, for the traditional hoye-hoye performance.

Do you think she will welcome us?

asks one of the kids.

Let’s try!

But she has a bad temper, especially when she sees kids,

warns another kid.

Last year, after all the songs we sung and the kolkal we burned, she gave us only five Nafkas and told us to scram.

Doesn’t hurt to try, anyway!

So they all go to Addey Mebrat’s and, with their kolkal burning hot, they start to sing.

Hoye Hoye

Addey Mebrat, Our Old Mother

Please come out with an open hand To reward your beloved children.

Addey Mebrat comes out from the dark room, where she usually stays hidden from curious eyes. She calls the kids to step forward and she stretches an open hand.

The kids see something shimmering in her creased palm.

One of the kids with a fearless heart goes nearer and grabs the Nakfa. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

This is Fifty Nakfa!

Ruhus Beal Kudus Yohanns, Addey Mebrat!

Go away now! I don’t want to be disturbed!

Happy St. John’s day, just the same!

shout back the kids and go back home very happy.

We call this holiday Qudus Yohanns (St. John, the beloved disciple of Christ). According to the traditional or Ge’ez New Year, we are now in 2012! But for those who are looking for the fountain of youth, I’m sorry to tell you this but it does not exist.

For Eritrean children, Kudus Yohanns is a festival par excellence. New Year means new clothes, and lots of meat to boot. And nobody cares about the calendar.

The New Year in the Geez calendar, commonly known in Eritrea as St. John, is celebrated on the 11th or 12th day of the month of September. One of the major holidays in Eritrea, although the Geez New Year is considered a religious holiday, it is also a day to celebrate the coming of spring as it also heralds the end of the rainy season and a whole new season ahead to collect the harvest.

Traditionally, the old know Saint John’s day as the Ge’ez New year. How come? You ask! Well, Eritreans are used to the Gregorian calendar while the elderly mostly resort to the Julian calendar mainly for the purpose of keeping track of traditional and religious holidays, and because of this the New Year begins in the month of September.

The celebration of this New Year dates back decades, to the early settlers. Reasons for celebrating this new beginning in September is said to be biblical: in the Old Testament, it is believed that after the great floods, the new season began with the month of September.

What makes kudus Yohanns interesting to children though, apart from clothes and the slaughter of a sheep or chicken, is the torch-burning event conducted on the eve of the holiday known as Hoye-Hoye.

Traditionally, a fire was lit at sunset on the eve of St. John’s Day. The firewood was collected for days beforehand, and prayers and blessings were said as the fire was lit. There are also other traditions associated with the fire, including walking around the fire three times and throwing a pebble into the center of the fire saying a special prayer, and also jumping over the embers of the fire as it died to get new endeavors off to a good start, or to rid themselves of their own weaknesses and inadequacies.

When I was a kid, we used to light a dried Kolkal (cactus) or a shig (bundle of dried twigs) and go around asking for “trick or treat”, just the way they do it at Halloween in America. That was the only time, we were allowed to play with fire. Of course, that happened under the watchful eyes of our cautious parents or older siblings and neighbors.

You go door to door shouting hoye-hoye and reciting old chants, whose origin are shrouded in mystery.

Belay o Belay, Ho

In the middle of the lake, Ho

Planting Javelin, Ho

Ready to fight, Ho

The family that opened its door to welcome the night hollers would shell out a couple of Nakfas, which made us very happy.

Come on, step across the burning torch,

we would exhort the merry gentlemen. And they would step across the flaming and smoking kolkal three times forward and three times backward and would give us their blessings. But, we valued their financial contribution more than their hollow blessing.

It is not the same in the village,

objects my aunt.

She told me that in the village, the “treat or trick” part is absent. There, hoye hoye is more of a spiritual and superstitious nature.

On the eve of Kuddus Yohanns, the villagers light their shig and circumambulate the village with the village church as the focal point. Then they all go to the open ground or baito in the village and build a bonfire invoking God to forgive them their sins and bless them with good harvest and a time of peace.

Krie Eleison (Have mercy on us O Lord)!

And after reciting the Abune Zebenesemayat (the prayer) in unison, they disperse and go home. The stepping across a burning kolkal by the family is an event conducted by the members of the family and not for money, as is done in the big Eritrean towns like Asmara.

In the village, a neighbor’s kid arrives with a burning torch early in the morning, gets inside your home and recites the Akohkay (A bad spirit repellent invocation).

Akokhay, Akokhay

May the cooking pot for wild herb vanish,

And be replaced by a pot of [deleted] porridge.

Once every house is disinfected with similar recitation, you are guaranteed a year of plenty and prosperity. The social part of the New Year celebration begins with the slaughtering of a livestock.

Meanwhile, the women and young ladies during the last week of the year gather in big groups and go down the river nearby, cheerfully singing traditional melodies and dance to it as they spend a fun time playing with the water.

It’s the time of the year the women, surrounded by families and neighbors, strengthen their bonds. This week is known as Pagumen: unlike the western one, in the geez calendar we have 12 months of 30 days each, with the remaining five or six days making up a week of Pagumen, right before the holy day of St John.

On the eve of Saint John’s day, fathers slaughter a sheep, a goat or at least a hen. Most people prefer a sheep to a goat but some argue a goat is much cheaper and has much more meat. Mothers or daughters take the last steps of brewing Swa, homemade beer; bake Injera, thin flat spongy sour bread preferably made of Taff flour and cook Zgni, a hot meat stew. Green straw (Setti) is spread on the floor and maybe, a soothing incense smoke fills the room. The whole event is very exciting and every family member contributes at some point, during the whole process.

New Year resolution, doesn’t exist in our culture. Here, people simply pray asking God to bless the New Year with plenty of food and peace.

His Holiness Abune Petros, Archbishop of the Eritrean Tewahdo Orthodox Church, gave benediction in connection with Geez New Year.

Abune Petros gave detailed briefing on the historical background of the Holiday and wished the people and Government of Eritrea, members of the Eritrean Defense Forces and the faithful a happy Holiday.

Moreover, his Holiness also called on the faithful to support families of martyrs and extend hands to the disadvantaged nationals.

Finally, His Holiness Abune Petros wished peace and prosperity to the Eritrean people.